The market displayed a positive trend almost for the entire session. Taking cue from firm US indices, Sensex opened 115 points higher at 8275 and continued to rally to touch the day's high of 8440 on buying in auto and banking stocks. Thereafter, the market remained range-bound with a positive bias. However the announcement of index of industrial production (IIP) numbers for January 2009 did little for the market despite IIP reporting a -0.5% growth. However, profit booking in some of the frontline stocks dragged the market to its intra-day low of 8275. Sensex bounced back towards the close, as short covering in heavyweights helped the index to recover and end the session at 8344, up 183 points. Nifty finally settled at 2617, up 44 points.

Indian market gained sharply today after 2 days of holiday tracking the Wall Street gains. Investors ignored weak industrial production data for January 2009, which stood at -0.5 per cent as against -0.6 per cent in December 2008. However, the domestic market also got the support from the drastic fall in India''s annual inflation rate that dropped to six and a half year low to 2.43% for the week ended February 28 against 3.03% previous week.

The domestic market opened on pleasant note on the back of positive cues from US markets during two days local holiday. Wednesday, the US stock markets ended flat after a sharp solid start. The financial stocks rallied as investors were carried away by the government plans to stabilize banks. Benchmark indices continued to gain ground on sustained buying over the ground. Upward movement was also supported by lower inflation number for the week ended 28th February 2009. Further, strong sentiments overlooked negative IIP data for January 2009. Market maintained its northward journey till end despite negative opening of European markets. BSE Sensex ended above 8,300 mark and NSE Nifty above 2,600 level. From the sectoral front, traders on-loaded position in majority of the sectors. Besides, most of the buying was witnessed in Auto, Bank, Oil & Gas, Metal, IT, FMCG and Capital Goods stocks. BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap stocks also followed the same trend. However, Consumer Durables and Teck stocks remain out of favour as observed most of the selling from these baskets.

Among the Sensex pack 25 stocks ended in green territory and 5 in red. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained strong as 1262 stocks closed in green while 1162 stocks closed in red and 99 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 183.35 points at 8,343.75 and NSE Nifty ended up by 44.3 points at 2,617.45. BSE Mid Caps and BSE Small Caps ended with gains of 10.91 points and 10.59 points at 2,564.40 and 2,877.27 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 8,439.71 and intraday low of 8,274.78.

For January 2009, industrial production stood at -0.5 per cent as against -0.6 per cent in December 2008. The December figure of (-2.2) per cent has now been revised to (-0.6) per cent. This is the third time in this fiscal that industrial growth has turned negative on account of sharp drop in demand both overseas as well as domestic markets. The IIP number stood at 6.18 per cent for the corresponding period of previous year.

India''s inflation for the week ended 28th February 2009, slipped below 3 per cent as stood at 2.43 per cent as against 3.03 per cent in the previous week. This is the lowest level for inflation since June 2002. However, wholesale price index (WPI) for all commodities, increased 0.04 per cent to 227.7 as compared to 227.6 on a week-on week basis. The annual inflation rate was 6.21 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

On the global markets front the Asian markets which opened before the Indian market, ended lower amid renewed worries about the economy. Japan’s economy contracted at 3.2% in the three months to December and 12.1% on an annualized basis as the global downturn choked off demand for cars, high-tech goods and other exports. Shanghai Composite, Nikkei 225, and Straits Times index ended lower by 5.14, 177.87 and 11.98 points at 2,133.88, 7,198.25 and 1,493.53 respectively. However, Hang Seng gained 70.87 points at 12,001.53.

European markets which opened after the Indian market are trading in red. In London FTSE 100 is trading lower by 63.90 points at 3,629.91 and in Frankfurt the DAX index is trading down by 99.87 points at 3,814.23.

The BSE Teck index lost (0.09%) or 1.43 points at 1,634.12. Losers are Sun TV (6.96%), Tel18 (3.66%), Rolta Ind (3.67%), Bharti Airtel (6.37%) and IOL Netcom (6.35%).Sterlite Industries advanced by 7.26% as the company has signed a new agreement with Asarco, a copper mining company of the US to buy its operating assets for $1.7 billion. This deal is viewed as an opportunity for geographic diversification in the US market by Sterlite, which is a subsidiary of London-based Vedanta Resources.

Tata Motors gained 6.77% as it has entered into a tie-up with State Bank of Mysore provide an added facility of car finance to its customers. This facility will be available at all branches of State Bank of Mysore and 329 sales touch points of Tata Motors.

Satyam Computer Services Limited ended down by 3.18%. The company was honored, along with the LV Prasad Eye Institute, with a Consumer Health World Award for a tele-ophthalmology program, which provides expert and affordable eye care to Indian villages.

Aurobindo Pharma Limited remained unchanged. The company has received tentative approval for Lopinavir/Ritonavir Tablets 100/25mg and 200/50mg from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA).

Sell-off in Bharti Airtel capped sharp gains in the key benchmark indices triggered by rally in battered index pivotals Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. The BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 183.35 points, or 2.25%, off 95.51 points from the day's high but up 68.97 points from the day's low. Expectations of further cut in policy rates by the central bank helped the market shrugged off weak data on industrial output. Easing inflation raised hopes for further monetary-policy easing.

Despite the gains, the market breadth was negative on BSE. The breadth turned negative from a strong breadth in early trade.

In the last few months, DIIs have absorbed heavy sales by FIIs who are facing redemption pressures in their home countries amid the global financial sector crisis.

Indian equities opened firm today, playing a catch-up with global markets after a two-day break on 10 and 11 March 2009 on account of local holidays. The market surged in early afternoon trade after the latest data showed a sharp fall in inflation which will provide room for the central bank to reduce policy rates further. However, the market soon cut gains as the data showed industrial production declined for the second month in a row in January 2009.

The market firmed up again in afternoon trade with the Sensex surging to the day's high. It firmed up further before profit taking pulled it off the day's high. The market weakened further in late trade as index heavyweight Bharti Airtel slumped.

Industrial production declined for the third time in fours months in January 2009. The index of industrial production (IIP) declined 0.5% in January 2009 against a upwardly revised 0.6% decline in December 2008, government data released during trading hours today showed. Industrial production had risen 6.18% in January 2008.

Inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) rose 2.43% in the year through 28 February 2009, much lower than previous week's 3.03% rise, data released by the government today, 12 March 2009, showed. It was the smallest annual rise in inflation since 8 June 2002 when inflation was at 2.18%. Its lowest ever was 1.13% on 2 February 2002. However, the inflation for the year through 3 January 2009 was revised upwards to 5.33% from 5.24%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 4 March 2009 cut the repo rate and reverse repo rate by 50 basis points each, with immediate effect. At that time, RBI said it will continue to maintain ample liquidity in the system.

According to a domestic brokerage, the latest RBI rate cut will set the ball rolling for lower interest rates in the economy and increase credit flow to individuals and the corporate sector. The latest rate cut brings the reverse repo to 3.5%, identical to the rate at which banks mobilize savings deposits. The lower repo rate in turn could dissuade banks from parking surplus funds with the RBI and increase lending, it notes in a report. Banks have been parking large sums of money with RBI through the repo window.

According to Aditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank, Indian banks are flush with funds and interest rates have dropped drastically over the past few months. According to him, the regulators should allow Indian banks to raise long term funds without cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) requirements for such funding. This in turn will enable banks to provide long-term lending to corporates and long-gestation infrastructure projects.

European shares lost ground on Thursday, with oil producers and mineral extractors among the weakest performers and banks also coming under a bit of selling pressure. Key benchmark indices in UK, Germany and France were down by between 1.55% and 2.49%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index slumped 2.41% after a revised data showed that the Japanese economy contracted at a 12.1% annual rate in the fourth quarter

China's Shanghai Composite index fell 0.24% after industrial-production growth slowed in the first two months of the year as exports slid at a record pace. Output rose 3.8% in January and February 2009 from a year earlier, slowing from a 5.7% increase in December 2008, the statistics bureau said today, 12 March 2009.

Trading in US index futures indicated the Dow could fall 52 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 12 March 2009.

US markets ended slightly higher on Wednesday, 11 March 2009 amid hope for additional government financial support for the tumbling economy. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.91 points, or 0.06%, to 6,930.40. The Standard & Poor`s 500 index climbed 1.76 points, or 0.24%, to 721.36, while the Nasdaq Composite index increased 13.36 points, or 0.98%, to 1,371.64.

Earlier, US markets had surged on Tuesday, 10 March 2009 after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the government will use capital injections to spur lenders to sell distressed securities. Meanwhile, US Congress also gave its final approval to $410 billion stimulus package.

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday, 11 March 2009, that the bank was profitable in January and February 2009 bolstering speculation that the worst of the banking crisis may be over. On Tuesday, 10 March 2009 Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit wrote in an internal memorandum that the firm was profitable in the first 2 months of 2009 and is confident about its capital strength.

The BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 183.35 points, or 2.25%, to 8,343.75. Sensex opened 114.38 points higher at 8,274.78, also its day's low. At the day's high of 8,439.26, the Sensex gained 278.86 points in mid-afternoon trade.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative during the course of the day. On BSE, 1274 shares declined as compared with 1151 that advanced. A total of 96 shares remained unchanged. The breadth was strong in early trade.

The barometer index BSE Sensex had settled at its lowest level in more than three years on Monday, 9 March 2009. The Sensex is down 1303.56 points or 13.51% in calendar 2009 from its close of 9,647.31 on 31 December 2008. The S&P CNX Nifty is down 341.70 points or 11.54% in calendar 2009 from its close of 2,959.15 on 31 December 2008.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 24 logged gains while only 6 of them slipped. Tata Power (down 3.10%), NTPC (down 2.75%), Ranbaxy (down 1.04%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) shot up 3.90% to Rs 1198.90 on bargain hunting after a recent steep slide. The stock moved in a band of Rs 1170 and Rs 1212.75. Earlier, the stock lost 16.93% to Rs 1153.85 in one month to 9 March 2009.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank jumped 8.71% to Rs 285.85 on 78.83 lakh shares after its ADR surged 16.27% on on Tuesday, 10 March 2009. It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack.

India's largest bank in terms of assets and branch network State Bank of India gained 1.13% to Rs 906.90. Though the stock rebounded from the day's low of Rs 898, it is off from the day's peak of Rs 935.

However India's second largest private sector bank by operating income HDFC Bank fell 0.73% to Rs 793. The rose as much as 3.51% at the day's high of Rs 826.90 mirroring a 10.97% rally in its ADR on Tuesday, 10 March 2009.

Auto shares gained after the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data released on Monday, 9 March 2009 showed 10.61% rise in auto sales to 10.4 lakh units in February 2009 over February 2008.

India's largest truck maker by sales Tata Motors galloped 6.62% to Rs 142.75 after the British government announced a 27 million pounds (Rs 192 crore) grant to Jaguar Land Rover to help it build a new, greener vehicle. Its ADR surged 12.15% on Tuesday, 10 March 2009.

Ashok Leyland rose 3.12% to Rs 16.55 on reports the company has increased the number of working days at its manufacturing units due to recovery in demand.

India's largest pharma company by market capitalisation Sun Pharmaceuticals spurted 4.33% to Rs 1021. After market hours on Friday, 6 March 2009, Sun Pharma said it extended its tender offer to Taro Pharmaceuticals till 20 March 2009. The extension was to comply with an order issued by the Supreme Court of Israel prohibiting the closing of the offer until the court decides on the appeal made by Taro's non-promoter directors against the offer.

India's top copper maker by sales Sterlite Industries India vaulted 7.18% to Rs 262 after foreign brokerage Credit Suisse retained its 'outperform' rating on stock with a target price of Rs 500. On 7 March 2009, the company announced that it will pay $1.7 billion in cash and notes to buy bankrupt US copper miner Asarco LLC, lower than the $2.6 billion it offered last year.

India's largest private sector steel maker by sales Tata Steel rose 1.31% to Rs 154.30. On 10 March 2009, the company announced that the production cut at its UK-subsidiary Corus continues to be about 40%.

Outsourcing focussed IT firms gained as higher ADRs and a weak rupee. India's largest software services exporter by sales TCS rose 1.88% after it signed a multi-year IT solutions contract with German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG, one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers. The financial details were not disclosed.

India's third largest software services exporter, Wipro rose 1.58% after its ADR jumped 11.15% on Tuesday, 10 March 2009. India's second largest software services exporter Infosys Technologies advanced 2.45% after a 7.41% surge in its ADR on Tuesday, 10 March 2009.

However India's fifth largest IT major by sales HCL Technologies fell 1.48%.

Tech Mahindra fell 1.54% to Rs 259. Reportedly the company is in discussions to acquire Bangalore-based niche telecom solutions player Sloka Telecom. The 5- year-old tech start-up Sloka Telecom has put a price tag of Rs 30-35 crore but there is no agreement on a final transaction.

The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar today, 12 March 2009 on expectations of capital outflow from the stock exchanges. The partially convertible rupee was at 51.93 per dollar, weaker than its previous close of 51.85/51.87. A weak rupee boosts revenues of IT firms in rupee terms as IT companies earn a lion's share of revenue from exports.

India's largest FMCG major by sales Hindustan Unilever (HUL) jumped 3.83% to Rs 224.80 on bargain hunting after a recent steep slide. The stock had slumped 11.48% in the previous four trading sessions to Rs 216.50 on 9 March 2009 from Rs 241.50 on 3 March 2009 triggered by foreign brokerage JPMorgan Chase & Company cutting its rating on the stock to 'underweight' from 'neutral', citing weakening growth and increasing competition.

India's largest engineering and construction by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) advanced 2.40% to Rs 575.30 on reports Oman has shortlisted six firms including Larsen & Toubro, to build a $1.4 billion airport terminal. The lowest bidder is a consortium of the local NRI-owned Galfar Engineering & Contracting Company and L&T, the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) reported last week.

Meanwhile, L&T has registered interest to participate in the bidding process for Satyam Computer Services, its spokesman said today. L&T is the single largest shareholder in Satyam with a 12% stake.

Satyam Computer Services slipped 3.79%. Suitors for fraud-hit Satyam have to give notice by today, 12 March 2009, that they are interested in bidding for the Indian outsourcing firm amid lingering uncertainty over the true state of its finances.

India's largest power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 3.96% to Rs 1352 on bagging an order worth Rs 81 crore from Powegen Infrastructure for supplying generator transformers for the 1980-megawatt (MW) Tirora thermal power project of Adani Power Maharashtra (APML) at Tirora in Gondia district of Maharashtra. The company unveiled the new order win on Monday, 9 March 2009.

India's Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, who discussed the nuclear deal with both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and his counterpart Under Secretary for Political Affairs William Burns, said the deal is on track with both sides determined to go forward with an initiative. Noting that deal had already been signed in 2008, Menon said now its a question of operationalisation and bringing it down to the commercial level. For that India had already signed an additional protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Telecom pivotals saw divergent trend after the Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Monday, 9 March 2009, said it will cut the termination charge telecom firms pay each other for domestic calls while increasing the rate for incoming international calls.

Shares of India's largest cellular services provider by sales Bharti Airtel, having weightage of 6.12% in the BSE 30-share Sensex, fell on concerns that large operators like the company and unlisted Vodafone will likely get hurt from the cut in domestic termination charges as they are the net collectors of termination fees while the other operators are net payers. The stock was down 7.20% to Rs 545.45 and was the top loser from the Sensex pack.

Another reason why Bharti Airtel slumped was news of its chief executive, Manoj Kohli, offloading his holding in the telecom firm through open-market transactions. Kohli, who owned 1,23,000 shares, sold 53,000 shares on 6 March and 70,000 shares on 9 March 2009.

After trading hours, Kohli clarified that he sold the shares for personal reasons and that he continues to be the chief executive officer and joint managing director of the company. He further said he still held 1,80,000 options in the company.

India's second largest cellular services provider by sales Reliance Communications advanced 3.89% to Rs 137.40 on bargain hunting after a recent sharp fall. The stock lost 20.52% to Rs 132.25 in a month to on 9 March 2009.

Aurobindo Pharma gained 0.28% to Rs 158.65 on BSE, on receiving US nod for a generic drug. The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 12 March 2009.

Fulford (India) soared 14.71% to Rs 333 on speculation of a possible open offer from Merck & Co Inc.

The National Stock Exchange had earlier said that trading would continue in the normal course from 5 March 2009 to 19 March 2009 despite Sun Outage between 11:45 IST to 12:25 IST. The exchange has advised members to use alternative mode of connectivity instead of VSAT during the above mentioned period for continuing trading without any disruptions on account of Sun outage.

Earlier on 25 February 2009, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) had informed the NSE that there would be Sun Outage from 5 March 2009 to 19 March 2009 between 11:45 IST to 12:25 IST due to which trading members may face connectivity problems at different times on different dates based on geographical location during this period.

Today domestic markets are likely to open negative as the other Asian markets have opened with blood bath. RBI governor Dr. Subba Rao has stated to a Japanese news paper that achieving a GDP growth rate of 7% is little impossible. The IIP growth data for January would come today and the numbers would also have some impact on the market movements. There are anticipations that the January IIP numbers would show little positive growth as against a contraction of 2% in December. The sentiments across other markets are very weak and therefore domestic investors may also trade with a pessimistic and cautious note.

On Monday, the domestic markets opened with a negative gap and closed in red. The sentiments were weak since the opening as anticipated due to weak global cues. There was no sign of recovery throughout the day’s trade. Further towards the end the selling pressure intensified and the frontline stocks were brutally shattered. Profit booking was witnessed across the broader level on the surge of Friday’s trade. Sectors like Realty, FMCG, Bankex and Teck lost 3.21%, 2.78%, 2.78% and 2.58% respectively. Whereas Auto was the only sectors that remained safe with a marginal gain of 0.07%. During the session we expect the markets to be trading volatile.

The BSE Sensex closed low by 165.42 points at 8,160.40 and NSE Nifty fell by 47 points at 2,573.15. The BSE Small cap and Mid Cap closed with losses of 32.81 points and 45.05 points at 2,553.49 and 2,866.68 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 8,259.22 and intraday low of 8,110.10.

On Wednesday, the US stock markets closed flat. The phenomenal rally in the early trade was later discounted with huge profit booking. The session therefore witnessed a choppy trade after investors booked profits across broader stocks. However investors are also waiting for tomorrow''s congressional committee meeting, which will examine mark-to-market accounting rules. The rules have enabled massive write-downs at banks and other financial companies. The temporarily suspension of the rules could remove an overhang from many financial companies, potentially allowing their shares to rip higher. There was no specific news to drive the markets as such the markets closed nearly flat. US light crude oil for April delivery fell by a drastic $3.38 to settle at $42.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The crude oil fell as the US Energy Information Administration said that the domestic crude oil inventories rose more than 7,00,000 barrels to 351.3 million barrels in the week ended March 6. They have further forecasted a fall in the demand of oil during 2009.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) inclined by 3.91 points to close at 6,930.40 The NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) index grew by 13.36 points to close at 1,371.64 and the S&P 500 (SPX) grew by 1.76 points to close at 721.36.

Today major stock markets in Asia are trading negative. Shanghai composite is low by 39.64 points to 2,099.83 along with Hang Seng that is trading lower by 6.15 points at 11,924.51 and South Korea''s Seoul Composite is low by 7.53 points at 1,119.98. Japan''s Nikkei is also low by 79.02 points at 7,297.10 and Singapore''s Straits Times is low by 21.79 points at 1,483.72.

Indian ADRs ended mostly lower. In technology sector, Satyam ended down by 1.10% along with Infosys by 0.04%. Further, Patni Computers lost 1.42% and Wipro closed down by 3.18%. In banking sector ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank lost 2.68% and 1.61% respectively. In telecommunication sector, MTNL advanced by 1.24% and Tata Communication gained 1.92%. However, Sterlite Industries dropped by 0.20%.

The FIIs on Monday stood as net sellers in equity and net buyers in debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs 1,818.70 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs 294.40 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs 1,816.20 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs. 250.60 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs (1.50) Crore and Rs 43.80 Crore respectively.

On Monday, the Indian rupee closed at 51.85/87, 0.38% stronger than its previous close of 51.63/65. The fall of stock markets pulled the rupee low on apprehensions of dollar inflow.

On BSE, total number of shares traded were 22.79 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs 2,201.43 Crore. On NSE, total number of shares traded were 48.75 Crore and total turnover was Rs 6,524.68 Crore.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 799468 with a total turnover of Rs 9,771.16 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 341837 with a total turnover of Rs 8,180.96 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 1454658 with a total turnover of Rs 19,007.44 Crore and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 34494 and notional turnover was Rs 937.69 Crore.

Today, Nifty would have a support at 2,523 and resistance at 2,598 and BSE Sensex has support at 8,020 and resistance at 8,255.

Key benchmark indices are likely to open sharply higher as they catch-up with global cues after a two-day break on 10 and 11 March 2009 on account of local holidays. The SGX Nifty futures for March 2009 series surged 87 points in Singapore. The index of industrial production (IIP) figures for January 2009 and inflation data for week ended 28 February 2009 to be announced by noon today, 12 March 2009 will be closely watched.

Most Asian markets were trading lower today, 12 March 2009, led by finance companies and automakers, amid renewed concern the deepening global recession will cause company earnings to deteriorate further. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea were down by between 0.07% and 1.96%. However Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted index rose 0.24%.

US markets ended slightly higher on Wednesday, 11 March 2009 amid hope for additional government financial support for the tumbling economy. The Dow Jhones industrial average rose 3.91 points, or 0.06%, to 6,930.40. The Standard & Poor`s 500 index climbed 1.76 points, or 0.24%, to 721.36, while the Nasdaq Composite index increased 13.36 points, or 0.98%, to 1,371.64.

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that the bank was profitable in January and February 2009 bolstering speculation that the worst of the banking crisis may be over.

Back home, key benchmark indices dropped on Monday, 9 March 2009 as subdued-to-weak trend in global markets, a dismal US jobs data, a weak rupee and concerns of sustained outflow by foreign funds weighed on the domestic bourses. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 165.42 points or down 1.99%, to settle at 8,160.40, its lowest closing in more than three years. The S&P CNX Nifty fell 47 points or 1.79% to 2573.15, its lowest closing since 20 November 2008.

The National Stock Exchange had earlier said that trading would continue in the normal course from 5 March 2009 to 19 March 2009 despite Sun Outage between 11:45 IST to 12:25 IST. The exchange has advised members to use alternative mode of connectivity instead of VSAT during the above mentioned period for continuing trading without any disruptions on account of Sun outage.

Earlier on 25 February 2009, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) had informed the NSE that there would be Sun Outage from 5 March 2009 to 19 March 2009 between 11:45 IST to 12:25 IST due to which trading members may face connectivity problems at different times on different dates based on geographical location during this period.

The market is likely to witness sideways movement on the back of a strong intra-day volatile move. Stocks across the sectors along with heavyweights may gyrate sharply. Overnight marginal gain in the US indices and weak Asian markets in morning’s trades may further dampen the investors' sentiment. On the technical side, the Nifty has a stiff resistance at 2600-2650 levels and the downside strong support at 2550-2500, while the Sensex could test higher levels of 8300 and has a likely support at 8000.

US indices ended higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones gaining 4 points to close at 6930 and the Nasdaq ended 13 points higher at 1372.

Most of the Indian ADR's fell on the US bourses. Rediff was the biggest loser and dropped over 4% followed Wipro declined 3.18%, while Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Patni Computer and Satyam were down around 1-2% each. However, VSNL soared 1.92% while MTNL and Dr Reddy's gained around 1% each.

Crude oil prices in the US market edged lower, with the Nymex light crude oil for April delivery down by $3.38 to close at $42.33 per barrel. In the commodity segment, the Comex gold for April series gained by $14.80 to settle at $910.70 an ounce.

Indian markets are likely to open with a gap up since we have some ground to cover for the past two sessions. All markets were up between 5 and 6% in the previous trading session taking a breather from the positive cues from US markets. We need to see whether we can sustain early gains. Inflation for the week ended February 28 is expected at 2.34% as against 3.03% a week earlier. The Sensex has supports at 8090 and 8000 and resistances at 8380 and 8620. The Nifty has supports at 2550 and 2520 and resistances at 2640 and 2670.

Gold surprisingly gave 300% returns from 1970 to 1975 when world suffered worst ever recession after great Depression. Will the history repeat? That is the reason behind current "Mad Gold rush". But if you invested in the Gold in 1975, your investment gave negative returns for the next 25 years.

Remember 2 things:

1. Gold generally trades in the lower range around March and July. Generally, it is the best time to buy gold and marriage season is the best time to sell God.

2. Below 11,000, Gold is a safe investment but above 15,000- it is only for traders but not for investors.

Future of Gold:

When stock markets are in down turn in 2002, Gold was at Rs 5,400 per 10 gram. Don't forget that Gold traded below 9,000 per 10 gram till 2007 means you might have got routine returns from Gold investment. But investors who made investments in gold in mid-2007 are now making 70% returns in just 20 months. But I don't know what will happen togold investors who bought it at above 15,000 but they remain in losses even after 3 years. Why? Gold will recede to 11,000 levels once equities make comeback. What happened to crude oil will repeat in case of gold also. Don't forget that Gold is not even an essential commodity. But Gold is a less volatile investment.

Examples:

1. Crude oil prices moved to $147 per barrel and Goldman Sachs people gave $200 per barrel target. It is now trading below the fundamental price at $35 per barrel.

2. Sensex moved to 21,000 and analysts and analysts gave 30,000 target. It is now trading at 9,000 levels.

3. Real Estate prices reached astronomical levels in 2007 but people bought land as if there will be no land available for purchase in future.

The Maharashtra government has decided to levy a fee to grant its consent to companies and other bodies to raise money against leasing government owned land. (BS)

At least nine non-metro airports may get to charge Rs300-350 per passenger, as user development fee (UDF). (ET)

The Government is planning to issue tax-free bonds worth up to Rs100bn to the general public every year until 2020. (ET)

The Government may consider a further interest subsidy on loans to companies in select sectors. (ET)

ICAI has deferred a decision on relaxing AS 11, which mandates MTM provisioning in the profit and loss account for foreign exchange-related gains and losses. (BS)

The Wireless Planning and Co-ordination wing of the Department of Telecom has finalised the National Frequency Allocation Plan, which will be the guiding policy for all spectrum allocation in the country. (BL)

Morning means one more innings given to play and win what you missed yesterday.

Sehwag’s fastest century by an Indian may inspire many a bull to launch an offensive. We missed the global rally, as the world’s major stock markets rebounded from recent reversals while we celebrated Id and Holi and of course India’s victory in New Zealand. Majority of the gains were driven by Citigroup’s remarks that it was profitable in the first two months of 2009. As a result, we may see some bounce early on in today’s session.

However, anxiety ahead of IIP and Inflation data, coupled with mixed global cues could spoil the party for bulls later. IIP is expected to be flat to marginally negative. A bigger fall in IIP may heighten worries over the health of an already sluggish economy.

Meanwhile, inflation is expected to fall sharply from 3.03% to around 2.3%. While that may be good news on one hand, it also points to a worsening macro-economic situation. Guard your wicket as coming on the front foot could often get you stumped.

A short-term spurt shouldn’t lead one to believe that we are out of the woods. We remain in a bear market, and such rallies are only to be expected. A sustained recovery will not take place in the absence of stability in western financial system.

FIIs were net sellers in the cash segment on Monday at Rs849.4mn, while the local institutions pumped in close to Rs3bn. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net buyers at Rs4.42bn. On Friday, FIIs were net sellers of just Rs16mn. Mutual Funds were net buyers of Rs1.29bn on the same day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 4 points, or less than 0.1%, to 6,930.40. The S&P 500 index added 2 points, or 0.2%, to 721.36. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 13 points, or 1%, to 1,371.64. It has now gained 8% in two sessions.

Stocks rallied in early trades and gyrated through the afternoon before taking another shot at a rally towards the close.

The US market had rallied on Tuesday, with all three major benchmarks posting their biggest gains of the year. Citigroup eased some concerns about its future after saying that it was profitable in the first two months of the year, spurring optimism that banks are recovering from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Financial stocks also gained after regulators said they may reinstate the "uptick rule" that stops short sellers from driving a stock lower.

The Dow and S&P 500 ended Monday's session at 12-year lows and the Nasdaq at 6-year lows, following over two months of selling on nagging worries about the financial mess and its fallout on the global economy.

As of Wednesday, the Dow is down 21% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 is down 20% and the Nasdaq has lost 14%.

Financial stocks were mostly higher on Wednesday, but off the day's high, as investors braced for the congressional hearing on Thursday on the mark-to-market accounting.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said that he sees modest signs of an economic recovery and that he supports a plan to create a US risk regulator. The bank's shares gained 4.6%. Citi, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs all advanced.

Among the technology stocks, Apple, Dell, eBay and Google led the rally. Dow component Hewlett-Packard (HP) surged 5.8% on a UBS upgrade.

The February budget deficit in the US increased by US$192.8bn in February, short of forecasts for a rise of US$205bn. The deficit for the first five months of fiscal 2009 rose to a record US$764.5bn, over US$300bn more than the entire deficit for fiscal 2008, which was a record.

Four US states' unemployment rate jumped more than 10% in January. The states are Michigan, South Carolina, Rhode Island and California. In January, 49 states and the District of Columbia saw higher month-over-month jobless rates. Only Louisiana bucked the trend.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, speaking ahead of the G-20 financial summit next month, urged global leaders to increase their efforts to help the world economy amid a deepening recession.

Treasury prices inched lower, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.02% from 3% on Tuesday.

Lending rates were unchanged. The 3-month Libor rate held steady at 1.33%, while the overnight Libor rate held at 0.33%. Libor is a bank-to-bank lending rate.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.

US light crude oil for April delivery settled down US$3.38 to US$42.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped after the government's report showed crude supplies rose last week, while Chinese consumption dropped.

COMEX gold for April delivery rose US$14.80 to settle at US$910.70 an ounce.

Thursday brings reports on February retail sales, weekly jobless claims, January business inventories and the Congressional hearing on mark-to-market accounting.

After the market closed, Freddie Mac said that it will tap an additional $30.8bn in federal aid after loan holdings and other assets deteriorated.

European stocks inched higher, paced by gains in banks such as Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index added 0.2% to 166.24, off earlier highs, after posting the best one-day percentage rise in four months on Tuesday.

After staging a smart come back on Friday, it was another day of losses for the Indian equity markets. Markets came under renewed selling pressure as traders and investors preferred to stay light ahead of holidays on Tuesday and Wednesday. Finally, the BSE Sensex declined 165 points to close at 8,160 and the NSE Nifty slipped 47 at 2,573.

Among the 30-components of Sensex, 27 stocks ended in negative terrain and only 3 stocks ended in the green. ITC, Reliance Industries, SBI, Infosys, L&T and Bharti were among the major laggards. Bucking the negative trend were, HDFC, Maruti and M&M.

Shares of Lupin advanced by 1.1% to Rs593 after the company announced a strategic tie-up with top academic echelons - Manipal University (Karnataka), Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (Pilani) and Pune University - in a move to allow employees of Lupin’s R&D wing, Lupin Research Park, to pursue their industry specific research while concurrently working with Lupin. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs601 and a low of Rs574 and recorded volumes of over 35,000 shares on BSE.

Shares of Jindal Steel & Power gained by half a percent to Rs1004 after reports stated that Bolivia plans to take 600 acres of private land that contains part of the El Mutun iron ore deposit and deliver it to the company. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1029 and a low of Rs990 and recorded volumes of over 0.2mn shares on BSE.

Shares of United Spirits gained by 3% to Rs596 following reports that four global spirits makers including Diageo have shown interest in acquiring stake in the company. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs607 and a low of Rs574 and recorded volumes of over 1.2mn shares on BSE.

Shares of SpiceJet surged to higher altitude after reports stated that the low-cost airliner is in talks with the GoAir for either a merger or to acquire a controlling stake in the company.

CEO Sanjay Aggarwal stated that, SpiceJet wanted to set up a regional airline to connect smaller cities in the country. Apart from Delhi and Mumbai, GoAir currently flies to smaller towns like Goa, Jammu, Srinagar, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Kochi.

The stock ended at Rs13.3 rising by over 10% hitting an intra-day high of Rs14.6 and a low of Rs12.7 and recorded volumes of over 1.7mn shares on BSE.

Shares of Satyam Computer rallied by over 15% to Rs48.7 after the company announced that it invited bidders interested in buying a majority stake. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs50 and a low of Rs34 and recorded volumes of over 3.5mn shares on BSE.

Shares of BHEL slipped by 1% to Rs1300. The company announced that it won a major contract for the manufacture and supply of generator transformers against stiff competition from European MNCs and Indian companies.

Valued at Rs810mn, the order has been placed by Powergen Infrastructure for the upcoming 1,980 MW (3x660 MW) Tirora Thermal Power Project of Adani Power Maharashtra Ltd. (APML). The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1307 and a low of Rs1278 and recorded volumes of over 0.2mn shares on BSE.

Shares of Tata Motors slipped by 2% to Rs136 after the company announced that its promoters pledged total 13.42% stake. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs141 and a low of Rs135 and recorded volumes of over 0.5mn shares on BSE.

With markets to remain shut on Tuesday and Wednesday, all eyes would be on the inflation and IIP data to be released on Thursday when markets resume trading.

We are in the midst of a global crisis that will unquestionably rank as the most virulent since the 1930s. It will eventually subside and pass into history. But how the interacting and reinforcing causes and effects of this severe contraction are interpreted will shape the reconfiguration of our currently disabled global financial system.

There are at least two broad and competing explanations of the origins of this crisis. The first is that the "easy money" policies of the Federal Reserve produced the U.S. housing bubble that is at the core of today's financial mess.

After dropping for two straight days, precious metals shone again today, Wednesday, 11 March, 2009. Prices rose today due to the weak dollar which increased the appeal of precious metals as a hedge against inflation.

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa.

On Wednesday, Comex Gold for April delivery rose $14.8 (1.7%) to close at $910.7 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell to an intra day low of $892.6 earlier during the day. Last week, the yellow metal remained almost unchanged. For the month of February, gold ended higher by 7.4%. For January, 2009, gold had gained 3.9%. Year to date, gold prices are higher by 3.2%.

On 17 March, 2008 prices had skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce. But prices have dropped somewhat (8.9%) since then.

On Wednesday, Comex silver futures for March delivery rose 26 cents (2.1%) to end at $12.8 an ounce. Last week, silver rose 1.7%. In February, 2009, silver had rose 4.3% after climbing 14% in January. Year to date, silver has climbed 12.4% this year. For 2008, silver had lost 24%.

In the currency market on Wednesday, the dollar fell against most of the other global currencies. The dollar index, which measures the value of dollar against a weighted basket of six currencies, was down 0.8% to 88.008.

In 2008, gold prices ended higher by 5.5%. The dollar index had gained 12% that year.

On Wednesday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for April delivery closed at $42.33/barrel (lower by $3.38 or 7.4%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Last week, crude ended higher by 1.7%. For the month of February, crude prices had ended higher by 1.5%.

Prices reached a high of $147 on 11 July, 2008 but have dropped almost 67% since then. Year to date, in 2009, crude prices are higher by 0.2%. On a yearly basis, crude prices are lower by 60%.

The EIA reported today in its weekly inventory report that crude inventories rose by 700,000 million barrels last week. Market had expected a decline of 1 million barrels. As per the report, refinery capacity utilization rate remained low at 82.7%. It also showed that inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex futures, fell for a fourth week to $33.6 million barrels.

The EIA report also showed petroleum demand has been falling. Total petroleum products supplies over the past four weeks, including gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, averaged 19.3 million barrels a day, down by 2.1% from a year ago. But gasoline demand over the past four weeks rose by 1.6% from a year ago.

OPEC has been trying to cut production consistently in order to step up prices from their current low levels. There has been conflicting reports in the market regarding the fact that OPEC is likely to reduce output in March, 2009. OPEC has already agreed to cut cartel quotas by 4.2 million barrels a day since September, equivalent to about 5% of global oil demand. The cartel is supposed to meet on 15 March at Vienna.

Also at the Nymex on Tuesday, April reformulated gasoline lost 3.5% to $1.2512, April heating oil dropped 1.4% to $1.1987 a gallon.

April natural-gas futures sank 0.9% to $3.806 per million British thermal units.

Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex.

We recommend a buy on Ipca Laboratories from a short-term trading perspective. It is apparent from the charts of Ipca Laboratories that it has been on a long-term down-trend since its lifetime high of Rs 794 recorded in July 2007. In October 2008, the stock’s down trend accelerated and it witnessed a sharp decline. It finally halted at the support at Rs 300 levels in late November. The stock took support around Rs 300 level for the second time recently. On March 6, the stock gained 6.6 per cent, forming a bullish engulfing candlestick pattern indicating short-term bullish reversal. We notice that the weekly relative strength index (RSI) is displaying a prolonged positive divergence. The daily RSI is rising in the neutral region and the moving average convergence and divergence indicator is signalling a buy. We are bullish on the stock from a short-term horizon. We expect it to rally further until it hits our price target of Rs 362 in the forthcoming trading sessions. Traders with short-term perspective can buy the stock while maintaining a stop-loss at Rs 310.